Mesirow Financial Interview Questions

11 total interview insight submissions

Interview Experience (88%)

The Interview Experience is a score from 1 star (very negative) to 5 stars (very positive) generated based on the Interview Insights at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. If you hover over the various sections of the donut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few interview insights). Simply put, as a company gets more reviews, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to its simple average and away from the average of the entire dataset.

3.8
  • Very Negative
  • Negative
  • Neutral
  • Positive
  • Very Positive
Interview Difficulty (55%)

The Interview Difficulty is a score ranging from very difficult (red) to very easy (green) generated based on the Interview Insights at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. The higher the number, the more difficult the interviews on average. If you hover over the various sections of the doughnut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few interview insights). Simply put, as a company gets more insights, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to its simple average and away from the average of the entire data set.

2.2
  • Very Easy
  • Easy
  • Average
  • Difficult
  • Very Difficult
% Interns - FT Offers (59%)

The % of Interns Getting a Full Time Offer chart is meant to provide a realistic estimate of the hiring practices of the company based on the reviews at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. If you hover over the various sections of the doughnut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few reviews). Simply put, as a company gets more reviews, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to the simple company average and away from the average of the entire data set.

50%
  • 0%
  • 20%
  • 40%
  • 60%
  • 80%
  • 100%
  • 10%
  • 30%
  • 50%
  • 70%
  • 90%

Interviews at Mesirow Financial

YearPositionLocationGroup/DivisionExperienceDifficulty
2020AnalystChicagoInvestment ManagementPositiveAverage
2022Summer AnalystChicagoN/APositiveEasy
2020Summer AnalystChicagoIndustrialsNeutralEasy
2018Summer IB InternChicagoInvestment BankingVery PositiveAverage
2016AssociateChicagoInvestment BankingNegativeEasy
2014Intern - Real Estate CapitalChicagoGlobal MarketsPositiveVery Easy
2014Investment Banking Analyst ChicagoGeneralistNeutralAverage
2013Investment ResearchChicagoInvestment ResearchVery PositiveEasy
2013Investment ResearchChicagoInvestment ResearchVery PositiveEasy
2013InternChicagoFinancePositiveAverage

Analyst Interview - Investment Management

Anonymous employee in Chicago

Outcome

Accepted Offer

Interview Source

College / University / On Campus Recruiting

Length of Process

1-2 months
Interviewed: November 2020 Date Submitted: Sep 25, 2022

Application

Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Group Interview
Drug Test
Background Check

Interview

Started off with 2 phone calls with HR. Standard routine personal interview to get to know you and your background. Followed by in person interviews with team. Followed up by two more phone calls with people from team before receiving offer.

Interview Questions

Unexpected was what do you do in your free time. Simple question but was not something I had expected.
Sample Answer

Summer Analyst Interview

Anonymous interview candidate in Chicago

Outcome

No Offer

Interview Source

Applied Online

Length of Process

1-2 months
Interviewed: June 2022 Date Submitted: Jun 22, 2022

Application

Phone Interview

Interview

First there was a brief phone screening with someone from HR. Then a first round interview with an analyst with a mix of behaviorals and basic technicals

Interview Questions

What is a LBO and what are the steps to a LBO?
Sample Answer

Summer Analyst Interview - Industrials

Anonymous interview candidate in Chicago

Outcome

No Offer

Interview Source

Employee Referral

Length of Process

2-3 months
Interviewed: August 2020 Date Submitted: Apr 14, 2021

Application

Phone Interview

Interview

The interview process was straight forwards and run by 1-2 recruiters. I was asked standard questions about valuation

Interview Questions

I was asked about the expected return of a private equity firm.
Sample Answer

Summer IB Intern Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous employee in Chicago

Outcome

Accepted Offer

Interview Source

Applied Online

Length of Process

1-2 months
Interviewed: August 2018 Date Submitted: Sep 12, 2018

Application

Phone Interview
Group Interview

Interview

Phone screening was very brief, mostly behavioral questions, "walk me through your resume," etc... Extremely friendly HR rep. Moved directly to a superday after phone interview.

Interview Questions

Walk me through your resume
Why Mesirow
Tell me about yourself

There weren't that many difficult questions asked but WSO wants me to make my answer a little longer, so I'm typing this. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Aliquam rutrum arcu sit amet varius tempus. Donec congue pharetra quam a sollicitudin. Aenean sagittis laoreet ultricies. Suspendisse lobortis, libero id mollis cursus, enim urna luctus felis, scelerisque gravida nisi nibh nec nunc. Fusce vitae aliquam libero. Suspendisse mattis nulla nec feugiat molestie. In mollis eleifend porttitor. Phasellus consequat ut odio condimentum iaculis.
Sample Answer

Associate Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous interview candidate in Chicago

Outcome

No Offer

Interview Source

Recruiter

Length of Process

2-3 months
Interviewed: August 2016 Date Submitted: Nov 30, 2016

Application

Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Group Interview

Interview

I was put in touch with the Company through a recruiter. I met informally over coffee and meals with team members prior to going for a full on-site interview.

Interview Questions

1. Why are you leaving your current firm?
2. How did you find out about our firm?
3. How are your current deal teams constructed?
4. What experience do you have with less sophisticated companies?
5. How would you transition from larger deals to working in the lower middle market?
6. What role do you play in your current role?
7. What are your ties to Chicago?
8. How do you think about your path to VP promotion?
9. What is your current compensation and how familiar are you with how Associates here are compensated?
Sample Answer

Intern - Real Estate Capital Interview - Global Markets

Anonymous interview candidate in Chicago

Outcome

Declined Offer

Interview Source

Applied Online

Length of Process

1-2 months
Interviewed: February 2014 Date Submitted: Nov 27, 2014

Application

Phone Interview

Interview

Applied online to the general intern program. Several weeks later I received an email that I had been selected for a first round interview with HR and that I should select the three divisions that interested me most. The interview was primarily fit questions. Approximately three weeks later I was notified that I had been selected for a final round interview. The interview was with two people from the specific group. Questions were generally about fit as well as about excel skills.

Interview Questions

Nothing was particularly hard. I was asked what is my level of excel proficiency on a scale of one to ten.
I was also asked why I wanted the specific groups I selected. Specifically I had to give concrete reasons behind why I wanted the groups and demonstrate my knowledge of the groups which was fairly straight forward because they had sent me a PDF with information on all the groups looking for interns.
Sample Answer

Investment Banking Analyst Interview - Generalist

Anonymous interview candidate in Chicago

Outcome

No Offer

Interview Source

Employee Referral

Length of Process

2-3 months
Interviewed: January 2014 Date Submitted: Oct 21, 2014

Application

Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Group Interview
Background Check

Interview

The entirety of the interview process and for them to come to a final decision did not take too long, I thought, but the superday was a bit long. I had thirteen separate interviews, which consisted of three, two or one person at a time. Overall, the interviews were simple with very minimal technical questions.

Process:
1) Phone interview
2) One-on-one : 3 simple technical questions. Also, know current macro issues going on
3) Super-day: 13 interviews (you meet pretty much everyone on the team)

Interview Questions

How do the three financial statements connect? They are not looking for a five minute response. Give a simple text book answer and you will do fine. Most of the technical questions you receive will not be advanced. They just want to make sure you have the basics down and that you have a good understanding of the material. This is probably the hardest technical questions you would get. If you are not sure about any questions never say "I don't know". Let them know you are not positive, but try to walk them through your thought process. That's really what it is all about, your thought process.
How do the three financial statements connect? They are not looking for a five minute response. Give a simple text book answer and you will do fine. Most of the technical questions you receive will not be advanced. They just want to make sure you have the basics down and that you have a good understanding of the material. This is probably the hardest technical questions you would get. If you are not sure about any questions never say "I don't know". Let them know you are not positive, but try to walk them through your thought process. That's really what it is all about, your thought process.
Sample Answer

Investment Research Interview - Investment Research

Anonymous employee in Chicago

Outcome

Accepted Offer

Interview Source

College / University / On Campus Recruiting

Length of Process

Less than 1 month
Interviewed: March 2013 Date Submitted: Jul 26, 2014

Application

1 on 1 Interview

Interview

The firm posted an listing on the university's career center website, and within 2 weeks was on campus interviewing. The interview was 1-on-1 and then the firm brought a few candidates for final round interviews in Chicago. The entire process was about a month

Interview Questions

What do you know about some of the different hedge fund strategies? Can explain some of the stragies in more detail?
Sample Answer

Investment Research Interview - Investment Research

Anonymous employee in Chicago

Outcome

Accepted Offer

Interview Source

College / University / On Campus Recruiting

Length of Process

Less than 1 month
Interviewed: March 2013 Date Submitted: Jul 26, 2014

Application

1 on 1 Interview

Interview

The firm posted an listing on the university's career center website, and within 2 weeks was on campus interviewing. The interview was 1-on-1 and then the firm brought a few candidates for final round interviews in Chicago. The entire process was about a month

Interview Questions

What do you know about some of the different hedge fund strategies? Can explain some of the stragies in more detail?
Sample Answer

Intern Interview - Finance

Anonymous employee in Chicago

Outcome

Accepted Offer

Interview Source

Employee Referral

Length of Process

Less than 1 month
Interviewed: 2013 Date Submitted: Jun 02, 2014

Application

Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Background Check

Interview

Talked with HR rep for a 30 min fit interview. Got a call the next day saying to come in for an interview. Just basic questions about the industry and why I wanted to work there. Walk through of the resume.

Interview Questions

I wouldn't say that any question was more difficult that others. Make sure to prepare for the department you are interviewing for (i.e. know what it is that you are applying for and know what the company does as a whole) and be personable and act normal.
Sample Answer